Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1887-03-05
HOUsE-OWNING.
From the st. Louis Republican


The remarkable exemption OF Phila-
delphia from the disturbances that have
attended the labor movement in other
parts of the country is fact that
possesses both interest and instruction
Philadelphia is not only the next larg-
est city in the United States, but a
manufacturing city, the center OF
varied industries that employ large
bodies of working people and present
every essential feature OF the labor
question, except the repeated and dis
sstroue strikes which it begets else
j Hhefs. eEjsdt exempt from these? !?
Why afp there no labor tumults in that
.cityf TES Phi1adelphia working peor
pie are not. les, spiiriled tAn8 e
brethren in other cities, i&is
they less devoted to the ipllt
their order. Yet we find, M
parently, contented In tbs Hlul
agitations that menace Ths peAe6
society elsewhere and tl1atpbriu991H
jurious arrangements 10 the bueino3
OF employers and suffering and diA4 \
ter to employees.
The explanation of the interesting
phenomenon is, that the working peo.
pie OF Philadelphia generally live in
their own houses, which is itself phe-
nomenon not to be seen in any other
large city, in this or any other conntry
1t has been recently stated that
more than two-thirds of its houses
10000 out of 100, ,O00-are owned by
those who dwelt in them. The
relation of landlord and tenant,
so important and giving rise to such
difficult and unsatisfactory complica
tions in other places, is very iusig
niticant feature in Philadelphia life
The working people are their owl
landlords and their own tenants NJ the
same time. They pay no rent. The,
sleep under their own roots. Thel
have satisfactorily solved the lane
problem. tor themselves, at least
They are land holders and proprie
tors-and this is why they are, To
certain extent, independent and con.
tented.
If it be asked how it came ahoat
that the working people OF Philadei
phla live In their own houses, while j
is the rule In other large cities for tn
working people TO live in rentet
dwellings, the answer is TO be fount
in the large number--over4 400-ot loal
and building associations in operu,ioI
there. The associations embrace prob
ably Sc, 900 members at anv one time
and these are nearly all persons 1
T limited means, who earn their ligin.
: by their daily labor. Many working
man, clerk or porter shrinks from th
idea OF even attempting to secure il
, one sum the 81 900 or 81 800 needed (
buy or build hOuse; but when il
, explained that the house NAV b
secured at once and paid for in montl
, ly instalments of IS, $40 or ST., rn,
ming through a series of years, tn
task is rid of its difficulties and mad
practicable to any steady, industriOu
) Garner of wages or salary, since
enables him TO buy and pay for nous
, with a trifie more than the MONTH
sums he pays in rent for the privi!cg
of living in somebody else's house.
} The wholesome effect which house
owning has on working people in pro
noting industry, sobriety and econu
my, and the happy social influence
, exerts in a community, entitle loa
, aud building associations to every er
couragement and favor that the stat
, can reasonably give them. The ina
who lives in his own house is a consel
vator of the peace. He has give
!, hostages for good behavior. All III
influences around him encourage him t
be good citizen. He is freed irol
the monthly visits of house agent am
the monthly tributes TO landlord
which beget IN tenants brO0diuy hafre,
OF capital and proprietors and provok
them to rash and desperate enterprises
The state, therefore, will find its wei
fare in all reasonable agencies tha
stimulate efforts at house-owning, aut
1t can afford to encourage them by th
most favorable legislation.